Instant views: Yang to step down as CEO

Agencies|

Nov 18, 2008, 10.29 AM IST

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"I've been recommending them (Yahoo) as a short. They should have taken the Microsoft deal, and Microsoft probably feels lucky that they didn't... I don't see anything there worth buying. "For me it's just a business in trouble. "They're changing the CEO but he's staying on board as Chief Yahoo? If he didn't own so many shares he'd probably be out cold," Jeff Embersits, CIO, Shareholder Value Management.

"I think it's going to be a big positive for the shares... "The company is in desperate need of change and this is clearly one way to do it. "I'm guessing there will be increased speculation that's going to happen (Microsoft returning to buy Yahoo) and the mere notion that Microsoft is coming back is enough to get the stock moving higher. This does potentially play into Microsoft's hands. Jerry was the roadblock for the last deal getting done," Ross Sandler, analyst RBC, Capital Markets.

"You've got a company [Yahoo] that is still pretty clean, doesn't have any debt, been generating strong cash, despite the lull in earnings. The question is what's that worth now?" "If Microsoft liked it in the 30s, they've got to love it at this price." "At this stage maybe the best CEO is Microsoft," Douglas Christopher, analyst, Crowell Weedon.

"Jerry was miscast in this CEO role as far as running Yahoo. At this point he's much better off running strategy or technology behind the scenes... "Because he's stepping down doesn't mean the company is going to magically be wonderful again. "Away from deals with Microsoft and Google, this company really needs to get back to basics, that is being a leader in online media and recapturing growth. It's looking more and more like a traditional media company which it shouldn't be at this point," Martin Pyykkonen - Wunderlich Securities.